


Charity and Jealousy

by Seattlesweetie113



Category: Station 19 (TV)
Genre: Angst, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-02-04
Packaged: 2019-10-13 11:04:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17486951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seattlesweetie113/pseuds/Seattlesweetie113
Summary: This year the department was creating a calendar to put out for charity. Victoria is chosen to be in it, and Ripley has to be at the photo shoot. This story explores the angst leading up to, during, and after the shoot. It also explores Ripley's vulnerable/ jealous side. I like to imagine Ripley as being all hard and tough on the outside, but in reality hes really just a big soft, teddy bear on the inside with feelings too. Some of it may be out of a character for them, but its just a product of my imagination.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story was inspired by a prompt I saw on Tumblr, you know who you are! I ship Vicley so hard. I love reading all the fic's out there about them, so I decided to write my own. This is my very first story, so go easy on me. I had fun writing it, and had Lukas Graham's "Love Someone" playing on repeat the entire time I wrote it. There may be some grammatical errors, as I did not have that much time to check over it, since I have been working all week, but I invite your critiques and opinions! Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

It was the day he had been looking forward to all week, yet equally dreading all the same. 

Today was the day Ripley would be supervising the photo shoot for this years charity calendar that the Seattle F.D. would be sponsoring. Each year they did something to raise money for charity, and this year they decided to put out a calendar, featuring various firefighters from all over the department.

Anyone who wished to participate had to send in a few photos of themselves along with a little blurb about why they should be chosen. The winner would pose in a firefighter-esque, swimsuit edition, calendar. Not quite as risqué as Sports Illustrated, but still none the less a swimsuit photo shoot. It could only be as PG as the mind imagines. 

He remembers back to a few weeks ago when Vic had came home, essentially barreling through the front door to tell him that she had been chosen to be the face of April. 

——

He heard the front door swing open before he watched her come skipping into the kitchen, “babe guess what?!” Vic proclaimed. 

Ripley had been starting dinner for them, so he finished chopping up the onion he was working on and looked at her with a grin on his face. 

“You won the lottery and we’re moving away to a tropical island to spend the rest of our days together” Ripley joked.

Vic let out a laugh and rolled her eyes at his sarcasm and he couldn’t help but grin. 

“Even better, I was chosen to be the face of April for the charity calendar the F.D. is doing this year” Vic was practically jumping up and down, she was so excited. 

“Wow that’s amazing Victoria. Do I get the first copy of this calendar?” Lucas smirked. 

Vic giggled and wrapped her arms around him. “Oh of course, I think I could pull a few strings and get the Chief his own personal copy” she said in a low, sultry voice and kissed him. “Maybe if you’re lucky I’ll even sign it” she whispered against his ear, sending chills down his spine. 

They got lost in the sensation of each other for a second and just as Lucas had her pinned against the counter, she remembered there was one more little thing to tell him that he might not be too pleased about. 

“I’m also sharing the cover of April with another firefighter from station 23” Vic rushed out and then continue to kiss him to soften the blow. 

Lucas tensed and pulled his face away and looked at her. “Sorry what was that?” 

Lucas really looked at her this time, to make sure he heard it correctly. 

Vic sighed, “they want me to pose with another firefighter from Station 23, I think his name is Mike or something. But honestly who cares, I’m just excited they chose me after Andy, Maya and I worked so hard on our entries for the contest.” 

Vic was proud of herself. She spent hours working on her entry and having all of her friends check it over before she submitted it. She wanted Lucas to be happy for her but she knew he wouldn’t like the catch that came along with her winning. 

Lucas was quiet and Vic couldn’t decipher the look on his face, and she was hoping he wouldn’t be too upset about that extra catch. It’s not like the photographers asked her to get naked with this man or do anything completely bizarre like that, besides they’d be in bathing suits and their uniform, what harm could be done, she thought. 

Ripley on the other hand, was struggling to voice what emotion he was feeling. Of course he was happy for her, he remembers the long day she spent with Herrera and Bishop taking photos throughout the station, attempting to find the perfect one to submit. Vic had shown him all the photos afterward and he thought they all looked incredible, but of course Vic, the stubborn one she was, was not satisfied with any of them. He couldn’t understand why though because to him, Victoria was the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen, therefore he may be a little biased when he says he’s not surprised she was chosen. 

But that’s the exact reason he’s in an emotional battle right now. He doesn’t want to share the beauty that he is lucky enough to have to himself everyday with another firefighter, let alone the rest of the Seattle FD or anyone else who receives a copy of this calendar. If he didn’t know any better he’d say he was feeling just a bit jealous. 

“That’s great honey, I know you worked hard for it” he said with a not too convincing smile, in somewhat of a dry tone. Which was the wrong move. 

Vic sighed, “well I figured you’d be a little more excited for me?” When he didn’t look at her, She shook her head. “Does it really bother you that I’m doing the shoot with that firefighter? I’m a grown woman, Luke, i can handle myself if that’s what you’re worried about” Vic was a little angry at what Lucas’ reaction or lack thereof had been implying.

Lucas looked up at her and could see the disappointment in her eyes and he quickly recovered, “no, no, Vic I am excited for you and I’m so proud, I am. And i know you can handle yourself. It’s not you I’m worried about” Ripley sighed and rubbed his temples, this isn’t how he expected this to go. “It’s just- I don’t like sharing...” he said all but shyly, looking down at the ground. 

Victoria looked at him, confusion on her face. “What?” 

Ripley sighed and with more confidence continued, “You’re beautiful Victoria. So beautiful. And all i can think about is how you’re gonna be up there doing this shoot with another guy being able to get close to you (from station 23, nonetheless) and you’re gonna be in this calendar that probably thousands of people are gonna see and please forgive me, I know this sounds stupid but I don’t wanna share you with anyone else..” 

Victoria couldn’t help but laugh. Ripley looked back at her with the same confusion in his eyes. 

“It’s not like I’m selling my soul to anyone Lucas. It’s just a charity calendar to raise money for the less fortunate. Don’t worry, honey, I’m still all yours.” She leaned up to give him a kiss on the cheek. 

Lucas smirked, he couldn’t deny he was a little jealous that she’d be up there sharing the stage with another firefighter, but he was damn proud of her and was also very excited to see what she was planing on wearing for this shoot. That would definitely be the most exciting for him. 

————-  
Today was the day. 

Lucas and Victoria were still in bed, when Vic’s alarm went off. They both groaned and Vic begrudgingly turned the offending object off. 

“Do we have to go?” Lucas said, voice muffled as he was hidden in the crook of her neck. 

Vic laughed. “Considering you are the chief and I’m part of the shoot, then yes we need to go. But as soon as it’s finished we can come right back here and continue this” Vic looked down pointedly at their naked bodies tangled together in the blankets and kissed the top of his head and then released herself from his grasp and headed for the shower. 

“Fine. As long as when we get home, I get to personally inspect the outfit you have planned as a surprise for this shoot” Lucas smirked. 

“Only if you’re lucky” Vic shot back. 

Lucas grinned and rolled out of bed to make them coffee and breakfast, before they would head over to 19 where the photo shoot was being held. 

——  
Lucas parked his truck outside the station, and they shared an endearing kiss before heading in. If Lucas was gonna have to be tortured by this photo shoot all day he needed a little bit of encouragement to get him through the day. 

Vic on the other hand was bouncing the entire way there and couldn’t wait to get inside. She was still so excited they had picked her to be in the calendar. They had also chosen Andy and Maya to be in the calendar, they would be sharing the face of September. 

——

Bishop and Andy had been on the phone with Hughes a few weeks before the shoot, after she told Ripley she was gonna be in the calendar. The girls had been talking about the firefighter from station 23 that Vic would be posing with. 

“I heard he’s quite the player” Andy said all but too loud, as Lucas had heard that and looked over at Vic. 

“Andy, shut up, all we’re doing is standing next to each other, smiling for a picture for charity.” Vic said in her best calming voice in order to help calm down Lucas. It didn’t work.

“Oh no, it’s gonna be much more in depth than that. They’re gonna make you-...” Bishop started. 

Before she could answer, Lucas took the phone and told the girls to remember that Vic’s boyfriend, who also happened to be the chief of the department, was not going to let anything more than merely smiling, happen. Vic couldn’t help but playfully roll her eyes at how protective he was. The girls laughed and bid each other good night before hanging up. 

Vic put her phone on the nightstand and rolled over to Lucas. “Are you sure you’re okay with this? I could back out. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable, especially being the chief, I know I would be if you had to-..” Lucas cut off her rambling with a kiss. 

“Vic, even if I wasn’t the chief, just being your boyfriend, of course I’m gonna be jealous of any man that gets to be closer to you than me. But I’m a big boy, I can handle myself” Vic giggled and started peppering kisses over his face. All the doubt Ripley was feeling washed away, because this girl made him feel like he was on cloud nine every day of his life. He could handle a simple photo shoot. What could go wrong.

 

—— 

Hughes and Ripley walked into the station, and were thrown a little at the scene unfolding before them. 

The entire station had been turned into a photo shoot area. There were cameras everywhere, and different backdrops set up for different shoots, and a lot of hustle and bustle from the camera crew. 

Along with everyone’s photo shoot, each winner was going to be recorded, giving a brief background about themselves and what they enjoy most about being a firefighter for Seattle Fd. 

Ripley was in charge of overseeing everything, but If he was being honest all he wanted to do was watch Hughes. It would be hard for him to keep his focus today. Especially, if Hughes would be posing for a photo shoot of this caliber with another man. 

Victoria must have sensed his apprehension and grabbed Ripley and pulled him to the side, out of eye sight of the camera crew and the rest of the station. 

“I’m gonna go get ready now, I’ll catch up with you later? Try to relax a little and not get too wound up” with that she gave him a knowing smile and a quick peck on the cheek.

“I’ll try but no promises” he shot her a signature grin and let her walk towards the locker room. He sighed and turned around, just as he was being called to talk to one of the camera men. 

——   
Ripley spent the first couple of hours watching the shoots that came before Vic’s. He did not realize how in depth these shoots actually were, Bishop had been right. You’d never guess they were doing a shoot for charity, rather you’d think it would be for sports illustrated or some other fancy magazine.

A female firefighter he recognized from another station was posing with a guy from station 6, that had been a known sleaze ball. He knew the guy going through the academy, he was a gym rat, always in great shape and was just the kinda guy you’d imagine being in one of these things. The woman was only in the department maybe 5 years. He remembered conducting her review. She was a gymnast before this. Therefore these two made perfect models for this thing. 

Ripley couldn’t help but feel nervous seeing this couple have to get so close to one another and do what the cameraman was asking. If Vic had to do this with the other guy he knew he would lose his mind. This was gonna be a tough afternoon for him.

——  
It finally came to Victoria’s turn, and Ripley couldn’t help but drop his jaw when she walked out. She was wearing a red halter bikini top that criss crossed at the bottom and showed off her toned ab muscles. Her caramel skin was glowing under the spotlight the photographers had set up, and the makeup crew must have sprayed some water on her because she looked a little wet, he guessed it was to complete the look. She had her uniform pants and boots on, and you could see the top of her bikini bottom poking out, since the pants were a little big without everything tucked in or the straps to hold them up. She was so stunning, Ripley had to remember to breathe. She couldn’t help but send him a wink, his reaction was everything she hoped for. 

If Ripley was worried about the shoot before, he’s even more so now. He’s having trouble holding himself back and not jumping her bones, so he could only imagine what everyone else is thinking. 

Now came the tough part, the guy she would be posing with came walking out. He was unfortunately, the perfect combination. Tall, dark and handsome. He was about an inch taller than Rip, about 8 or so years younger than him and had the cliche wash board abs. If looks could kill, Ripley would be sitting in a prison cell right now rather than where he was. No way did he want this Abercrombie model posing with his girl. He knows that sounds irrational, Vic wasn’t anyone’s to be claimed, and she was more than capable of taking care of herself, he knew that ever since she yelled at him, and this was just a photo shoot, but he couldn’t help the emotions he was feeling. 

He promised Vic he wouldn’t do anything uncalled for, but the second he senses this thing going south and this firefighter taking advantage of the situation, he was calling it. Ripley prided himself with making level headed decisions, and removing the personal from the problem at hand, but this was all personal. There was no room to be level headed. He didn’t know why he was so angry all of a sudden, this whole thing was for charity after all but it still grinded his gears the wrong way. 

———

Everything was going fine so far, Vic thought. She could see that Lucas was not entirely happy. She knew as soon as he saw Mike, or whatever his name was, that he’d be pissed. But it was for charity, she kept reminding herself. Nothing serious. 

That was until the photographer asked Mike to look a little more intimate with Hughes. So he did what the photographer asked and grabbed her hips from behind and they both posed. She attempted to smile even though she knew Mike was milking the situation a little too much and she could sense the agitation from Ripley and knew things would not end well. But what she didn’t know was that Mike saw it too, and that only spurred him on. 

Victoria had always been hit on and even hooked up with a couple of firefighters before she and Ripley got together, and in her defense she was usually drunk and they were always just one and dones. When her and Lucas got together and went public, most of the guys had backed off of her and knew that she was off limits, however today Mike seemed unfazed by that. 

What had happened next, was not by the photographers direction and it made Vic’s blood boil. Mike leaned over and whispered in her ear, quiet enough that neither the photographers nor Lucas could hear. To the photographers it was exactly what they were looking for but to Lucas it was exactly what he was looking for to wreck this guy. “Is the chief still satisfying you? I could show you a better time than him, if you’d let me” he then sneaked in a kiss on her cheek and went to grab her ass, but she shoved him away much harder than necessary and continued to tell him that if he ever so much as breathed in her direction she’d be showing him a better time with her fist. 

And just as she was about to make another threat to Mike, she felt gentle hands pulling her away. She looked up to see Lucas, eyes glazed over with anger, gently pulling her aside and telling her to step back. What Lucas did next probably would have costed him his job had there been a bigger crowd there. (Thankfully Vic was one of the last shoots and many of the people had already cleared out.) 

Lucas grabbed Mike by the suspenders of his uniform, shoved him against the wall with so much force the entire station got quiet as Lucas got in his face, “if you ever so much as glance in Victoria’s direction again, I will end you. I do not fucking tolerate the behavior you just displayed in my department nor do I tolerate scum bags like you passing a feel on my girlfriend. You think you’re a hot shot, mate? Wait until I have your ass in HQ for harassment charges. Don’t think for one second that I haven’t seen the accusations made against you in your file already” Mike’s glare turned into one of shock. Victoria’s never seen Lucas filled with so much rage. She’s seen him angry before but never to this extent. His eyes were wild. 

“Now get the hell out of here before I really do some damage” Lucas was seething. The Australian accent was out in full swing. It only came out on rare occasions, but it was very prominent when he was angry. 

Mike walked away, staring at the ground, looking like a dog with its tail in between its legs. She couldn’t really hear what Ripley said but whatever it was set Mike in his place.   
———  
Lucas stormed out before Vic could get to him. Travis had been the one to pull her aside and ask if she was okay. He and the rest of the Station 19 crew minus Sullivan and Warren who were not in today, saw it all unfold. He told her to give him some space before she went to find Lucas. He was probably still raging and would need a second to calm down. 

“Do you want me to go talk to him first?” Travis asked. He hated what Mike did to Vic and if Ripley hadn’t stepped in, he would’ve. He would’ve beat that guy to a pulp. 

Vic was thankful for her friends, especially Travis. He was always looking out for her, and even Lucas since they started dating. 

She smiled and said, “No thanks I think I need to be the one to go find him.” She squeezed Travis’ hand before setting off to find Lucas. 

————

 

It took everything in Lucas not to go grab that guy and beat him senseless. He couldn’t believe how much it bothered him. He never felt jealous rage like that in his life. Not with any of his previous wives. But with Victoria everything was different. She was his everything, he wanted everything with her, and that scared the hell out of him. He never cared so much for someone the way he does for her. So to see someone taking advantage of her like that , bothered him immensely. 

Victoria came bounding down the hallway, checking every room for him, until she found him sitting in Sullys office, since Sullivan was out of the station today. She closed the door behind her. “I’m sorry” she muttered, before taking several steps towards him.

He was sitting in a chair with his head in his hands, and looked up at her with an emotion in his eyes she couldn’t quite decipher. He was becoming harder to read recently.

“You have nothing to apologize for. It was my fault, i got upset and then stormed out like a child” he said, guiltily. 

She looked at him with empathy in her eyes, “Lucas I would have done the same thing if i were in your shoes. If that was you up there with another woman, I’d be tackling her to the ground” Ripley chuckled but still looked away from her. 

“Seriously, it’s okay babe” Vic rubbed her hands over his shoulders and down his back. He leaned into her touch. “Besides, if you weren’t there, and Mikey over there still got handsy then i would’ve gotten a little handsy myself and let’s just say he wouldn’t be coming near me again” 

Ripley couldn’t help but laugh at that. That’s my girl, he thought. 

He sighed and then turned to her and looked her in the eye. 

“That guy's a dick, Victoria. He’s bad news. You should see what’s in his file, I honestly can’t believe he still has a job with the department. I’m definitely going to be talking to Frankel about that. I knew he looked too perfect to be true, until i read his name on the photographers list. But by then it was too late, he already made a pass at you.” 

Lucas tensed at the recent events that just unfolded. Victoria continued to rub circles on his back until he was calm again. 

After awhile, Lucas was the one to change the subject. 

“You looked incredibly sexy in that bathing suit up there. Hell, I thought i was gonna have a stroke right there and then just from staring at you for so long” Lucas said, resting his hands on her waist. 

Vic giggled and for the first time that day,   
Lucas smiled a genuine smile and it made her heart bound in her chest. 

“Yeah well, you looked pretty good being all aggressive and macho when you shoved Mike against the wall” Vic winked at him. Lucas chuckled. 

“Wanna lock the door?” Vic whispered suggestively in his ear. 

Lucas laughed and shook his head. “This entire office is made of glass, people might see us and not to mention this is Sully’s office.” The mere thought of not only having sex in his best friends office but getting caught, weighed heavy in his mind, but it excited him more than he was proud to admit. God, the things this woman did to him. 

“I won’t tell anyone, if you won’t” Vic winked at him and began to loosen the lower string on her bikini top. 

“Ah Hell” Lucas all but growled and before Vic could respond he had her backed up against the door, locking it and then continued by sucking and biting on the sensitive skin at her neck. He reached behind her neck and pulled the bikini string the rest of the way releasing it from her neck and then leaned down and took one breast into his palm and took the other into his mouth, lightly sucking and nibbling on her nipple. Vic was seeing stars already and could only manage to bury her hands in his thick curly hair.

Lucas continued to kiss down her belly, and then began to remove her uniform pants after helping her out of her boots. He than planted kisses on the inside of her thighs leading to her core. Her bikini bottom had strings on both sides, and before she knew it, he had both strings undone and had the piece flung across the room. Lucas then reached her core, exactly where she needed him most and her scent was enough to drive him crazy. He placed a kiss to her center, and then used his thumb to test her folds. 

“God you’re so wet Victoria.” He moaned into her. Before using his tongue to lap her up in one swipe. 

This made Victoria’s legs feel like jelly. She moaned and yanked him up by his hair until he was face to face with her. She began undoing his belt and uniform pants. “I need you Lucas” 

Lucas didn’t need to be told twice, he stepped out of his pants, and before she knew it he had her waist in his hands and was spinning her around. He bent her over the side of Sullivan’s couch, and entered her in one swift motion. He sank all the way deep inside her, and just stayed like that for a minute And let her adjust to him. God she was so tight and felt so amazing. The sensation was overwhelming and Victoria bucked back into him encouraging him to continue. After thrusting hard and fast into her several times, they both found their release, and came off their high together. 

———-

After laying spent on the couch, spooning each other, Vic decided they had disappeared for too long and needed to get back out there. By the time they dressed and got out there, it was time for Andy and Bishop to do their shoot. They were the last of the day. They looked great, they had a large fan blowing on them so the wind lifted their hair in just the right way and made them look like firefighter goddesses. Vic was so proud. 

Lucas was attempting to fix his hair when a photographer stopped him and said that was the perfect messy look they were searching for all day after a firefighter couldn’t make it in for his shot today. The photographer asked Lucas and Victoria if they wouldn’t mind posing together for the August cover. They both grinned at each other and said they wouldn’t mind at all. They posed together and their pictures came out amazing. The photographer said they may have been the best he’s seen all day. Lucas was happy he was able to get in the pictures with Victoria, he felt bad for what happened earlier, and he knew Victoria was looking forward to this for awhile, so to be able to do this with her made him feel a lot better.

———

Later that evening, they were laying together in bed after going two more rounds after Sully’s office rendezvous. Lucas was on his back with Victoria resting her arm across his chest and her face buried in his neck. 

“Who knew you could pose so well for a photo shoot? You should’ve entered the contest originally!” Vic poked his side. 

Lucas laughed, “yeah I guess I have a natural talent for it, don’t I? Maybe I should consider a career change.” 

Vic rolled her eyes, “okay easy there Chief, I didn’t say you were that good” 

“Really, that’s not what you were saying in Sully’s office earlier?” He winked at her.

“Oh my god you are incorrigible that’s not what I meant!” She laughed. This man really was something else. 

“I’m only joking Victoria, I’m glad we got to do the shoot together, it made me really happy to be up there with you.” His expression turned serious and he looked her in the eye before saying, “I’m sorry again for storming out earlier. When I saw Mike grab you, I just- i just lost it. I love you so much Victoria. I would never let anyone disrespect you like that.” He then got a little quieter and admitted, “I’m so scared that one day I might lose you to someone else like Mike, younger and better looking than me...” 

She cut him off with a kiss, she never realized how vulnerable he felt, “Lucas you don’t give yourself enough credit. You’re such an incredible man and an even better partner, and I couldn’t imagine my life without you” she said looking into his bright blue eyes. 

All he could do was smile. He loved Vic more than anything. He never wanted to get married again after his second divorce, but he wanted it all with this woman, if she’d let him. He couldn’t imagine his life without her either. 

They fell asleep together, both with a smile on their face, happy to just be with each other. Ready to take on whatever their future would bring them, together.


	2. Supposed to be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few months after the Charity Calendar, Lucas and Victoria are doing great. They're relationship has never been better than at this moment. They were finally beginning to have and to imagine the future they always wanted and both deserved. But that doesn't come without a few hiccups along the way. What happens when their relationship is tested in one of the most extreme ways?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gosh, thank you guys for the amazing comments on the first chapter! I didn't think I would get so much positive feedback especially considering it's my first story! I had a lot of fun writing it so I decided to keep it going and give it a couple more chapters for you guys! 
> 
> This chapter is a tiny bit rushed, because I go back to school today unfortunately and I've been busy packing! So I didnt have a lot of time to write, I apologize if there's any mistakes. I hope you enjoy! Its filled with lots of Vicley fluff and of course lots of angst! 
> 
> I plan to post updates at least once a week, but with school and work it might get a little crazy and be pushed back. So just bare with me please!!

It had been almost 2 months since the calendar photo shoot they did for charity. Despite the small hiccup Lucas had had with Mike during Vic’s shoot, the rest of the day had actually gone very well and when the calendar was finished being put together, they each received a copy of the calendar and loved how it came out. In fact, the calendar was now on display in the break room and on the fridge in the kitchen of Station 19. 

Things with Mike however, had not gone so well. After his run in with Lucas, Lucas brought up the incident with Frankel and they looked into his file. Lucas was right. Turns out, good ole Mike had more than enough concerning things in his files, and Frankel was surprised that they had been pushed under the rug for so long. This type of thing and the things reported in his file was not tolerated in the department. They both agreed it was more of a risk to keep him employed with Seattle FD, so Frankel decided it was best to fire him. 

Lucas was not there the day she actually fired Mike, but according to Frankel he did not leave with much grace. He made quite the scene, demanding to know if it had anything to do with the Chief and what had happened at the shoot with Victoria. Frankel assured Mike that this was a long time coming and that they both knew that. That he should at least leave with the pride he still has. But before Mike left, he muttered something along the lines of you’ll regret this. 

Frankel just shook her head. They never go easy, she mumbled to herself before telling her secretary to make sure Mike no longer had access to any of the buildings. 

_______

Meanwhile, Lucas and Vic’s relationship had been going great over the last few months. They had finally decided to just move in together, to make it easier on them since they were spending all of their time together anyway. Vic’s lease was ending soon as well, so it just made sense to them. 

They had been folding laundry one afternoon at Vic’s apartment when he casually dropped the hint to her. 

“Wouldn't it be nice if both of our clothes could fit in one closet?” Lucas suggested, while looking over at him. 

Vic was distracted, attempting to pair their socks together when she responded, “Yeah but my closet isn’t big enough for that” 

Lucas rolled his eyes, of course she didn't get what he was getting at. 

“I think I know someone that has a pretty big master closet” Lucas tried again, to see if she would catch his drift this time. 

She did. She stopped matching their socks and looked up at him, “Lucas are you asking me to move in with you?” 

“Would you say yes if I was?” he glanced over at her with a smirk on his face despite having a bit of insecurity in his voice. 

She rolled her eyes playfully before looking at him and humming. “Hmmm that depends, do I get a majority of the closet?” she countered. 

“Half the closet and half the drawers” Lucas came back at her with his own counter while walking over to her and placing his hands on her hips. 

“Majority of the closet and slightly more than half of the drawers” she said with a little power and hint of sass in her voice while tilting her head at him, letting him know this was a losing battle. Leave it up to Victoria to be quite the negotiator. He would never admit it, but she had him wrapped around her finger, she could really have whatever she wanted. 

“You drive a hard bargain Victoria” He said before leaning down and resting his forehead against hers. “So, is that a yes?” she asked with hope in her voice. 

He mimicked her from earlier, “Hmmm that depends, is it a yes to moving in with me?” he repeated. 

She pretended to look up at the ceiling as if she was actually thinking about it, before smiled up at him, and gave him a sweet kiss. “It’s a yes.”

___________

Lucas loved having Vic at his place all the time now. He loved coming home to her everyday. Especially after some of the more tough calls, it was nice to go home and have someone who understood, someone to talk to and some to love. When he moved to this place after his split from Eva, he knew it was too big for just him and he had to admit, he did get lonely sometimes. His house was a decent size 3 bedroom home, in a nice neighborhood close to the center of Seattle. He loved it most because the entire neighborhood had a lot of older craftsman style homes that had been renovated but still maintained their original charm. They were perfect for a family. But he squashed that feeling down quickly because he told himself he would never open his heart to someone like that ever again. 

Until of course, he met Vic. 

Vic made Lucas imagine a future. A real future. A future where he wanted to come home to her in his kitchen making dinner for them or her in his bedroom waiting in bed for him to come home from a long day at work. He wanted to build a home, and a life together. Hell, he even started imagining going to the park down the block from his house with their kids and their dog. Yes, a dog. He even wanted a damned dog. A labradoodle to be exact. The whole 9 yards, he wanted that with Vic. 

Of course, he did not want to share that all with her right now because that might scare her away. They just moved in together, he didn’t want to move too fast. But, god, Vic made him want those things, all of them. 

_______________

They started to talk about it a couple of weeks after she moved in, on a lazy Saturday when they were both lying around in the living room on their day off.

Lucas had been twirling one of the curls in her hair in his hands, as she laid her head in his lap while they were watching House Hunters on TV. The couple on the show were newly weds and they were looking for a forever home, where they could raise kids and build their family. The similarity of the situation to her and Lucas was uncanny. So Lucas couldn’t help himself when he said, “I want that with you” as he continued to play with her hair. 

Vic was so relaxed by Lucas playing with her hair that she almost dozed off, but when she heard him say that, she felt her heart start racing. 

She lifted her head and turned to look at him, “What?” she said surprised. 

Lucas blushed and started grinning at her, “That was supposed to be in my head but I guess now that I said it..” 

Vic cut in, “You wanna go on house hunters?” she joked. Kind of. It is a great show. 

Lucas laughed at that and shook his head. “No Victoria, I don't want to go on House Hunters,” he sighed. Vic pretended to be hurt by that, and gave him a pout. 

He rolled his eyes at her but then his expression turned serious and Lucas took one of her hands in his and rubbed soft circles along the back of it. “I’ve been thinking…” he started, eyes staring at their joined hands.

“That’s never good” Vic joked. But she was still a little nervous by his serious expression, she had no idea what he was about to say. 

“Ha ha very funny” Lucas said before continuing, “No, I’ve been really thinking, about you, about us, and our future” He looked at her. “ I never really did that with my ex wives. I just kind of accepted life as it came, yanno? Whatever happened, happened.” He took a deep breath before continuing. “But with you that all changed. I constantly find myself daydreaming about you a lot more than I should be.” Vic laughed, and Lucas chuckled a little bit, but she urged him to continue. 

“I find myself thinking about us, building a life together Victoria. Marriage, kids, puppies, all of us going to the park on Sundays, I see it all. I don’t want to scare you by saying that but it’s what I imagine, and it makes me so damn happy to think about it. I never thought I could be this happy again. But you changed all of that, and I thank my lucky stars everyday that I have you.” Vic had tears in her eyes by the time Lucas was finished. She never had someone say things like that about her before. She knew Lucas was hesitant about finding love again, and she told herself that he probably wouldn't want to get married again, and she accepted that but she found herself having similar daydreams like his too. And Vic never did that. She never imagined a life with someone like Lucas for herself, but now that she had it, she never wanted to let him go. And that scared the hell out her. 

“In the future of course, I don’t want to pressure you into thinking we need to start a family right now. I think we still need a little time for us, to get into our own routine first” Lucas added, since she wasn’t saying anything. 

Lucas was avoiding eye contact with her after just admitting so much, he didn't want to freak her out and scare her off. 

“Is it weird if I tell you that I have been thinking about things like that too?” Vic blushed and looked up at him with a smile on her face. When he turned to look at her he had this shit eating grin on his face, and she couldn’t help but kiss him. 

“Not weird at all” He mumbled against her lips as he kissed her again, a kiss that was filled with so much intensity it made her toes curl. Vic was breathless. 

“I think we’d make some pretty darn cute Australian babies.” Vic said and winked at Lucas. “I could just imagine it now, little baby chiefs crawling around” she grinned at him. 

He laughed, shook his head and smiled. “They would be just as silly as you, and definitely just as beautiful, as you” he said as he reached over and twirled one of her curls in his hand, before tucking it behind her ear. “I hope they have your hair” he said. 

Vic smiled and said, “I hope they have your eyes, so damn gorgeous.” She looked at his eyes and then grabbed his face in her hands and placed a gentle kiss over each eyelid. Lucas then lifted his head up and met her kisses, and bit down gently on her bottom lip, silently asking for access. Which she granted, and then before either of them knew, they were pulling at each others shirts before tossing them mindlessly, somewhere in the living room.

“Should we go practice making these gorgeous babies?” Lucas asked suggestively, standing up from the couch. Victoria laughed and shook her head yes. Lucas picked her up instantly off the couch bridal style, and carried her to their bedroom. He laid her down gently on the bed, before removing his sweatpants and then helping her out of her leggings. 

He crawled up the bed on his knees, to bring himself right above her. He kissed his way around her neck, placing lots of gentle kisses before making his way down to her breasts, placing a kiss on each one and then moving further down, slowly. He wanted to take his time. He placed gentle kisses down her stomach and on her belly button, before planting soft kisses just above her panty line. This had Vic push her head further into the pillow, and pushing her hips up, urging him to the spot she needed him most. Lucas obliged and gently helped her out of her panties before settling in between her legs. He placed soft, slow kisses to her center, because he wanted to cherish this moment with her. But Vic had other plans, and Lucas couldn't deny her of them. “Lucas I need you inside of me” she sounded breathless. Lucas smirked and swept his tongue across her wet folds to lap her up quickly, before moving back up her body. 

“Your wish is my command, sweetheart” Lucas said before kissing her and then lining himself up at her entrance. He lifted her chin so she would look at him, and then he pushed into her, filling her all the way. They both moaned, the sensation being overwhelming. Lucas began to thrust in and out of her, setting a good pace, while maintaining eye contact and sharing sweet “I love yous.” 

They continued to make love like that, before reaching their climax together and laying spent in each others arms. 

Yeah, the Chief was definitely still satisfying her and she loved every minute of it. 

_________

A few weeks later, they had been lying in bed one morning almost ready to get up as they had made plans to go down to the local shelter that day to look at puppies. Victoria had convinced Lucas after their talk that they didn’t need to wait until the future to get a puppy, in fact, it would help to prepare them for having kids. If they could both manage to take care of a puppy, then they would be that much more prepared for children. 

So, Lucas found a shelter for them to go look at and scheduled a time for them to fill out some paperwork and to meet a few pups. Both of them loved dogs, and they wanted to rescue one and give them a good home. He was actually really excited, more than Vic, he thinks, and that was saying a lot. She looked like a little kid on Christmas morning when he finally agreed to get a dog now instead of in the future. 

So they were laying in bed together, talking about the supplies they would need to get for the house for the dog, when Lucas’s work phone rang. It wasn’t even 9am yet. Lucas groaned and Vic sighed. Lucas was on call today, but he didn’t think anything big would need his attention that day so he would still be able to go look at the shelter with Vic. 

He got out of bed to take the call, and Vic could see him visibly tense and run his fingers through his hair as he stared out the window. “Well who told them that” Lucas growled into the phone. “No. No I do not want that RIT anywhere near the building, it’s not stable, pull them back right now- that’s an order!” he shouted as he made his way to the bathroom.

Vic sighed and got out of bed. She began pulling his uniform out of the closet for him while he went to wash his face in the bathroom and get ready. While he was getting ready, Vic went downstairs and started coffee for them and grabbed food from the fridge to put into a container for him to take, knowing he’d probably be there awhile and would be hungry. She could totally do this domestic thing, she thought to herself. 

She was standing at the bottom of the stairs with his stuff in her hand with an understanding smile on her face, when he came bounding down the steps a few minutes later. 

“Duty calls” she sighed and handed him his stuff. 

He took the stuff in one hand and grabbed her waist with the other. She rested her hands on his chest. “Victoria I am so sorry. I know you wanted to go to the shelter today… You can still go if you want and send me pictures?” He offered. 

She gave him a soft smile, “No, I want us to do that together. I want you to be there when we pick out our pup” She leaned up on her toes and gave him a kiss. “I think I’m gonna go for a run and workout a little bit instead, I’ve been getting lazier recently” she said and he laughed. 

“Okay, be safe. I’ll text with updates. I love you” Lucas kissed her again, before opening the front door. 

“I love you too, you be safe too” Vic sighed and watched him leave before closing the front door. Vic frowned, exercising was definitely not as exciting as going to pick out a puppy. But, it’ll have to do. 

About an hour later she was ready for her workout, after calling the shelter saying they wouldn’t be coming today and then having something small for breakfast. Surprisingly she wasn’t that hungry and she was going running anyway. She didn't want to make herself feel sick. 

She decided to go for a run around the neighborhood, it was a beautiful morning so she didn’t want to waste it. She was locking the front door behind her when she noticed a dark SUV with tinted windows pulled over on the side of the road, at the bottom of their driveway. She remembered seeing that car when Lucas left earlier this morning but she didn’t think anything of it. But, as soon as she got to the bottom of the steps the car sped off. She thought it was weird, but she figured it could be one of the neighbors who had a visiter, she knows the family across the street always has people over, so she didn’t question it much more. 

___________

She enjoyed her run, it was a beautiful day out and the park around the corner was packed with families taking advantage of the warm spring day. She smiled, knowing that in a couple of years, maybe that would be her and Lucas. 

She returned home a little while later and was headed directly upstairs to shower, but not before tripping on something by the front door. Someone had left a large white envelope on the front porch. Vic furrowed her eyebrows. She didn’t think neither her nor Lucas were expecting a package. So she opened it and her heart began to race when she saw what was inside. Inside the envelope was a ripped section of the calendar they did for charity a few months back. The ripped section was the photo of her and Lucas. Except, Lucas’ face was crossed off in big red marker. 

Vic was very concerned by this. She wanted to call Lucas but she didn’t want to bother him at the scene. She knew he’d be tied up, so she checked to make sure there was nobody around and she took the envelope inside to the kitchen and set it in on the counter. 

She knew sometimes important figures in the community, like possibly the Chief of the FD, received hate mail, and she knew some more conservative Seattle families, were not impressed with the recent calendar. Saying it was too provoking and not appropriate for firefighters. So maybe this was just something stupid from someone like that. 

She tried to block it out of her mind, because along with that she had other things on her mind at the moment. 

During her run, her mind was also running. A mile a minute at that. Her and Lucas talking about babies so much had Victoria thinking about her last period. She is usually never late, but she was late this month. She originally thought it was just due to all the change in her life and other stressors, but now she is starting to think differently.

Could she be...? No. It’s too soon. Her and Lucas agreed they needed to wait and get a little more settled into a routine before they could bring a baby into their lives. They had a plan. And now there was this. Victoria let a deep, unsteady breath out. 

Crap. 

This was not what she needed today. All she wanted was to rescue a puppy but instead she got a sketchy envelope with hate mail inside and the news that she could possibly be pregnant with Lucas’ gorgeous Australian baby, which was a few years too early. 

Shit.  
__________

Shit. Shit. Shit. 

She was. She was in fact pregnant with Lucas’ gorgeous, Australian baby. 

She doesn’t know why this is freaking her out so much. Her and Lucas talked about this, they wanted this, but they just wanted it in the future. That’s what scares her the most, it’s not part of the plan. But do her plans ever go according to schedule? 

She had run out to the pharmacy that was 5 minutes away and bought about 5 different tests. And every single one sitting on the counter in front of her told her she was pregnant. A lot of emotions were coursing through her body. She was happy, she was scared and she was nervous all at the same time. Partly because she was already so in love with the little baby chief, and she knew Lucas would be too. But she was scared and nervous because she didn’t know if she was ready to be a mom yet, or if she could even be a good mom. Being adopted, doesn’t exactly give you any starting hope.

But Vic was determined. She was going to give this baby a good life, her and Lucas would. Better than what they both had growing up. They may have wanted this baby a little further down the road, but they could do this. They made a great team. So, they would make great parents. 

She took a deep breath and started to think about how she was going to tell Lucas. 

_______

Later that night, Vic was sitting in the kitchen with dinner ready and a present on the table, waiting for Lucas. Vic didn’t want to do anything too elaborate to surprise Lucas about the baby, she wanted it to be simple but perfect. She wanted it to be them. 

And so she did just that. She had made them dinner, had a glass of wine out for Lucas and water for herself, she had wrapped his present and she even went out and bought a nice dress just for the occasion. One she knew Lucas would have a hard time keeping his hands and eyes off of.

Lucas had sent her a text saying that he was just finishing up paperwork and was supposed to be home any minute, so she wasn’t surprised when she heard the front door open a little while later.

But what Vic didn’t know was that the person that opened the door was not Lucas. 

“Hey sweetheart, I’m in here” Vic yelled from the kitchen, without looking at the door. She realized she forgot to put the bow on the gift so she turned around to quickly grab the bow from the counter to put it on the gift but when she turned around, a man dressed in all black and a ski mask grabbed her and held his hand over her eyes. 

Vic tried to fight him off, she had been trained during one of those combined training sessions they often did with Seattle PD on how to defend herself if she was ever in that type of situation. And this was definitely the situation. But this man had her in a vulnerable position and he was much bigger than her so she couldn’t fight him off. 

She screamed as loud as she could, and she tried to knock him off her and grab anything around her but they just ended up struggling against each other and they knocked things off the counter in their struggle and ended up spilling the wine glass on the floor. The shatter freaking her out even more. Before she knew it, he was stabbing her in the neck with a needle, and she didn’t remember anything after that except yelling for Lucas, hoping that their baby was okay and then suddenly darkness. 

______

Lucas got home around 9 pm. He had a long day so he didn’t realize the front door was wide open until he got to the top step. He stopped and looked at the driveway and then the house. Vic’s car was still there and all of the lights were on. 

He stepped into the house cautiously. “Vic?” he called out. He walked further into the house when she didn’t answer. She wasn’t in the living room, or dining room. “Vic, Honey I’m home!” he called out again. No answer. Then he stepped into the kitchen and what he saw caused his heart to drop into his stomach and he thought he was gonna be sick. 

Dinner was made neatly on the table, next to a present. Which was even more alarming because everything else was knocked over and on the floor, things had been knocked off the counter, there was a broken glass and wine spilled all over the tiles, the chairs had been knocked over and then what scared him the most was that on the ground leading to the doorway was a faint trail of what he only knew could be blood.

He looked on the counter and found a large white envelope, he hesitantly opened it. Inside was their picture from the photo shoot, but over his face was a large red X. 

He felt sick. He wanted to throw up. This couldn’t be happening. Nothing was making sense. But he knew one thing. Vic was gone. She had been taken. And he was scared. 

He didn’t know what to do. So he did the one logical thing he could think of. His hands were shaking as he dialed 9-1-1, on the second ring they answered. 

“9-1-1 what’s your emergency?” the voice said. 

Lucas couldn’t breathe. His heart was racing. The blood was pumping in his ears. He braced the counter for support. He was having a panic attack. He couldn’t speak. He couldn’t do this. 

He finally was able to get out, “My girlfriend was taken. I think she- she… I think she was abducted.” His voice cracked. Saying it out loud made it all that much more real. 

And then he dropped the phone, and slammed his hands on the counter. He was angry. If he didn’t spend so much damn time at work maybe he could’ve protected her. He was supposed to be with her today. They were supposed to have a puppy. They were supposed to be starting their future. They were supposed to be here together. 

He couldn’t stop the sobs then from coming out and raking his body. He needed her and she was gone. She was taken. And he had no idea where she was or if she was coming back. 

He heard the sirens, before he saw the police officers approach him in the kitchen. They asked him question after question. But he couldn't breathe. He couldn’t speak. He tried loosening his uniform tie that was around his neck, but it didn’t help. 

Vic was gone. 

Vic was gone and she might not be coming back.


	3. Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a Charity Calendar goes wrong, Victoria goes missing. Will Lucas be able to find her in time?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys!! I’m sorry this update is coming so late! This semester is getting busier and busier already and it just started. I really wanted to get this story updated, so I pumped this chapter out last night! It’s slightly rushed but I wanted to add a chapter with a better ending after leaving you guys hanging on the last one. I hope you enjoy! 
> 
> Also, I’ve never really written a romantic thriller before so I hope it meets your expectations. 
> 
> As always please comment and leave me your thoughts!

It was dark, and it was cold. Those were Vic’s immediate thoughts when she opened her eyes. She had to adjust her eyes to the darkness, and attempt to take in her surroundings, or rather the lack thereof. There was a crack of light coming in from the bottom of the door and an old emergency exit sign that was still semi lit up above that door, giving her just enough light to examine the room. 

She couldn’t remember how long she had been here. She remembers the fight in the kitchen and then vaguely remembers being in the back of a van before it came to a sudden stop and then he was there. Dragging her out of the van and inside this place and tying her up. And then he was gone. Whatever he had drugged her with, obviously still had quite an affect on her because she was having trouble keeping her eyes open and her head felt like a ton of bricks. She couldn’t fight back. No matter how hard she tried. 

That was a few hours ago, she figured. Other than that, nothing. She couldn’t remember anything else. 

That’s what is bothering her most. Why couldn’t she just remember. She had been tied to this chair with her hands behind her back for god knows how long. She could feel her wrists were raw from how tight the rope was tied around them. She felt throbbing pain coming from her neck and her head was pounding. 

All she wanted to do was find a way out but, she had no idea where she was nor where out was. 

It looked like she was in some type of warehouse. It was definitely abandoned since from what she could see around her this place looked like it hadn’t been occupied in years. It was dusty and muggy. Someone definitely could’ve died here and nobody would know. She couldn’t help but laugh to herself. Good, that’s really good. Super helpful and encouraging in this situation Vic, she said to herself. 

She could hear a faint voice coming from somewhere beyond the door that she could make out in the corner. Or at least she thought she could, it’s possible she was hallucinating. There’s no windows near her and if there are they’ve been covered up, so she doesn’t think the voice is coming from outside. 

As she’s looking up for any windows, her inner firefighter comes out when she spots the sprinklers on the ceiling that look like they are definitely not up to code and thinks it would be very difficult to escape this room god forbid there was a fire. 

But there’s not. There won’t be. And that won’t happen to Vic. 

It won’t. 

Probably. 

Actually, all things considered, she was surprisingly calm for the situation at hand. Despite not being able to remember much and having no idea where she was or what was going to happen to her, she had kept herself pretty calm. 

Probably because all of the rambling she was doing to herself was helping to stop herself from losing it. 

Probably because she was a first responder, and she knew if she overreacted now her chances of getting out of this unscathed were slim. 

Probably because there was no use in freaking out, as that would only make things worse for her and for the baby. 

Probably because she needed to be strong for Lucas, and their future family. 

Lucas. God how she wanted to be with him right now. She needed his warmth and his strength. She needed to be wrapped in his strong arms being assured everything was gonna be alright. She needed to be on their couch watching cricket while he keeps insisting how good of a sport it is and she keeps arguing that nothing exciting ever happens. She needed to be sitting in the passenger seat of his truck with her feet on the dash while he drives them to their new camping adventure for the week. She needed to be sitting on the kitchen counter while he cooks, admiring how good looking he is and stealing bits of veggies he’s chopped up already. She needed their stupid arguments about the “clutter” around the house that needs to be thrown out yet neither of them want to part with. 

This, she thinks, this is what is keeping her calm right now. Her rambling and the thought of a future with Lucas and their baby. She needed that. She never needed anyone or anything in her life. She was always self sufficient and didn’t need to rely on others for anything. She didn’t like that feeling. Of needing someone. But she needed Lucas. Like you need air to breathe. And she’s never felt like that before. 

She remembers back to the night she had admitted that to him, it made her smile despite the trying situation she was currently in.  
_________

It had been a really hard day. 

Station 19 had been called to an MVA with a vehicle fire and entrapment. 

It had been raining that day and a drunk driver had failed to stop at a 4 way intersection, swerving before hitting an oncoming vehicle head on. Causing several other vehicles to hit each other as well. It was a mess. 

These calls always hit close to home for Vic. They put her back in one of the hardest, most difficult periods of her life. Her dearest childhood friend, Kelly and her mom were killed by a drunk driver on their way home on a stormy day just like this. They were only 3 miles from their house. Because Vic had been through multiple foster homes before she finally found a permanent home, when she finally had a friend she could trust with parents she only wished were her own, to have them ripped away from her broke her. It did a lot of damage on Vic, but more so on Kelly’s father. Kelly’s dad was a cop, and always said he protected the streets so his family could live in a world with no violence. So when he didn’t have his family anymore, he couldn’t bare it. It was only a few days after their accident that Vic had found out Kelly’s dad had committed suicide. He shot himself in their home. Baring their loss was just too much. He couldn’t live without them. He needed them. 

So when Vic found out that the couple hit head on by the drunk driver were expecting a baby, it made the entire thing worse. They were able to get the guy out of the car and he was fortunately going to be okay but his wife was pinned in. They needed the jaws of life to get her out. The extent of her injuries was very concerning. Her legs were severely crushed by the impact of the crash and she had a large gash across her forehead and was losing a lot of blood. Given the fact that she was pregnant, Vics team had to work twice as fast but just as careful to save this woman and her baby. It was crucial. By the time they were able to get her out she was unconscious and had lost an incredible amount of blood before being rushed to Grey Sloan. Of course, the doctors promised they were gonna do everything they could too save her and the baby but that may just not be enough. 

Vic’s heart broke all over for this family. She couldn’t help but think of Kelly’s family and the suffering they went through and she wanted anything but for this family to go through that.

The woman’s husband was sobbing and yelling that they needed to save her because he couldn’t live without her and their baby needed it’s mom and dad. He loved her and their baby more than anything. Vic had been part of the aid car that transported the family to the hospital. She wanted to know what happened to the wife and baby, so she sat with the man for awhile trying to comfort him. Usually Vics team helps the victims and then brings them to the hospital. They never see it through all the way so they never know what happens after that. This one hit too close to home though so Vic needed to see the entire thing through. So she was happy to be a friend to this guy while he waits for news on his wife and baby. He ended up telling Vic about the day he met his wife and that that was the day he knew he needed to spend the rest of his life with her. He told Vic stories about the trips they took and their honeymoon and the home they just purchased together. He had just finished the nursery and was planning on surprising her when they got into the accident. Vic had tears in her eyes. She didn’t even know this man but she knew that he couldn’t lose his wife and baby it would crush him, she didn’t know if he’d be able to make it through. So she held his hand and prayed. Vic wasn’t very religious but she decided a little prayer wouldn’t hurt. 

And that’s how they sat. Vic comforting a stranger that she felt like she knew in the hospital where his wife was fighting for her life and their baby’s life. That’s how they sat when they got the news that his wife unfortunately did not make it through surgery but they were able to deliver a beautiful baby girl and although she’s premature she is expected to be just fine. That’s how she sat hours after the man had been taken to see his daughter. That’s how she sat for another hour until Lucas came to get her. Travis was originally there with Victoria and the man but he needed to head back to the station. So he told Ripley where she was because he knew this would be hard on her. 

When they returned home, Vic was silent. She walked directly upstairs to shower without saying one word to him. Lucas was worried for her, he knew the call today was going to affect her. He knew the second he got reports from the scene. 

An hour later, Ripley and her were laying in bed together, after he bought her pain meds and a glass of water, because she said her head hurt. “Thank you” she said after he handed it to her. 

Ripley looked at her, he could tell she wanted to talk about what happened but for some reason she was holding back. She wouldn’t make direct eye contact with him which she only did when she had something serious to tell him or something was wrong. 

“Talk to me” Lucas urged her. He wanted to know whatever it was that was clearly bothering her. He didn’t want to push her, he knew she was dealing with something too close to home for her. But he wanted her to know she can talk to him, “What’s wrong?” 

Vic sighed deeply before saying, “That could’ve been us in that car” 

He shook his head. Lucas knew fairly too well the amount of accidents that were caused by drunk drivers everyday. 

“I know” Lucas said. 

“I could be laying on a table right now after countless hours of surgery and of doctors trying to save me, only for them to be too late” she said with a blank stare in her eyes that sort of scared Lucas. He didn’t know where this conversation was going and wasn’t sure if he wanted to. 

“Vic..” he started, but she cut him off. 

“Lucas I need you.” She said. She finally looked at him with tears in her eyes yet a determined look on her face. “And I’ve never admitted that to anyone before and it scares the hell out of me. I’ve never depended on someone or needed someone as badly as I need you. It’s like you’re my life line. I feel like without you I’m nothing Lucas. And I’m so scared to lose you. Especially in our line of work, it scares me everyday.” Vic said, now the tears were freely flowing down her face. 

Lucas’ heart felt like it was gonna beat out of his chest. He never had a heart to heart like this with any of his wives. But if he was being honest, he never really loved them the same way he loves Vic. For Vic to admit something like that to him meant the world to him. He knows she had an incredibly tough day, and he was going to be there for her, but he never expected for her to say just how much it scared her to lose him and how much she needed him. 

Lucas reached over for her and gently cupped her cheeks in his hands, “Victoria I love you so much. I know today was difficult for you. I also know how strong you are. You’re right, we put our lives on the line everyday to save others, never knowing if we’re gonna be coming home at the end of the day. But I promise you, I will do everything in my power to come home to you. Because I need you just the same. I worry about you every day, but I know you are one of the strongest people I’ve ever met, and that you’ll fight to come home to me just as I will for you. I’m never gonna leave you babe. I promise. At least not until you force me too. Even then it might be hard to get rid of me.” 

She laughed through tears, “I love you so much, Lucas. Thank you” Vic softly said, after laying her head on his chest. They fell asleep holding each other tight in their arms. With the promise that nothing would break them, as long as they continued to fight for each other.

————

“Chief?” He heard someone say. Bringing him back to reality. He was still sitting on the floor of their kitchen. He couldn’t bring himself to get up. He tried answering as many questions the police officers asked but he was still in a daze. They said they would step out for a few minutes to give him some space to breathe before they continued. He doesn’t remember how long ago that was. 

He looked up to see Tanner staring down at him with a look of pity in his eyes. He nodded at him in greeting. “How are you doing man? I wish it was under better circumstances” Tanner said. Sitting down on the ground beside the Chief. 

Ripley let out a strangled sound. He tried to chuckle, to find some sense of humor in this situation, cuz that’s what Vic would want. But he can’t. He feels like this is all his fault somehow. 

“I was supposed to be here. We were supposed to spend the day together but then i got called to a scene and had to fill out paperwork after and i just got so busy.” Lucas said with his head in his hands. “God, if I just saved the paperwork for tomorrow maybe I-“ he was cut off by tanner.

“No. Don’t do that. You and I both know you had no way of knowing something like this was gonna happen. You couldn’t have prevented this so don’t say it.” Tanner was right. Lucas has had this talk with a lot of his victims before. He shouldn’t be feeling like this. The chief of Seattle FD shouldn’t be sitting on the ground wallowing. He should do something. 

“I just feel so helpless. I don’t know what the fuck to do man. How do i save her?” Lucas’ voice shook. He was scared shitless. 

“That’s what I’m here for. We’re gonna get her back. I just need you to remember anything and everything that might help us. Walk us through the day. We need all the clues and tips we can get to try and get her back.” Tanner said after reaching for his notepad. 

So they sat there and recounted the events of the day and events leading up to it. Anything Lucas remembered he told Ryan. 

“Did you guys have something special planned for tonight?” Tanner said eyeing the table and the gift. 

“Uh- I actually have no idea. She must’ve planned something.” Lucas didn’t even realize she had something planned for them. It must’ve been a surprise. It wasn’t his birthday, or her birthday, he panicked a little thinking it might’ve been. He stood up to look at the table. 

Ryan looked at the gift on the table. “Maybe you should open the gift. It could help us out with the investigation. We can go sit in the living room to do it” he suggested.

Lucas carefully eyed the gift before picking it up and following tanner over to the living room. He sat on the couch and Tanner sat on the armchair across from him. He looked at the box in his hands. It felt weird opening this without Vic here, considering he had no idea what it was. It was pretty big box so he couldn’t imagine what was inside. It was wrapped in Christmas wrapping paper even though it was April. Lucas laughed a real laugh this time. Leave it to Vic to use whatever she had laying around the house. He took a deep breath before ripping the paper off and opening the box. 

He paused for a long moment just staring at it. Tanner looked at him questioningly, trying to peer over and see what it was that had the Chief so shocked. 

“Holy shit” Lucas finally said. Before lifting a a pregnancy test out of the box that was positive followed by a little white onesie that said “future firefighter” with a little fire truck below it. He couldn’t believe it. “Holy shit, I think I’m gonna be a dad” he said tears in his eyes. 

Ryan was just as shocked as he was. “Oh my god, congrats man.” He got up and clapped him on the shoulder. Both just staring at the gift, Forgetting about the circumstance they were currently in. Lucas was the first to realize. 

“Holy shit.” He said before standing up, “Holy shit, We need to find her before something seriously bad happens to her man. I can’t let anything happen to her, she’s carrying our baby” Lucas said with determination. 

“I promise man, we’ll get them back safe and sound” Ryan wasn’t sure how, or when, but he had to hold out hope that they’d find Victoria safe. He couldn’t think otherwise. He knew that would break the Chief, and it would definitely effect her team. 

Before either one of them could continue another police officer walked in, “Tanner, we got a lead” they both got up and followed the other officer outside to one of the detectives. 

“What do we got?” Tanner asked hopefully. 

“Well we just spoke with one of the neighbors across the street. Turns out they saw the same dark SUV, that the Chief had mentioned, speed off this morning. Luckily they have a security camera facing the street on their garage so we were able to get footage of the perp taking Ms. Hughes from the residence. However, We were able to get a plate number from the footage. The car is registered to a”Michael Smith” of Seattle. Says he’s an active firefighter, you know him chief?” The detective and Tanner looked at the Chief. 

“Fucking bastard” Lucas cursed. He took a deep breath before saying, “unfortunately I do, the department decided to let him go a couple of weeks ago after we found more than a few harassment claims among other things in his file. A few weeks prior to that he had an altercation with Hughes and I, and he thought that had something to do with his dismissal. Our battalion chief told me that he didn’t leave without mentioning something along the lines of ‘you’ll regret this’, So I mean I never thought he’d actually be capable of something like this but at the same time I’m not surprised if this is his doing.” Lucas shook his head, and ran his hands through his hair. He should’ve known. 

“Okay so now we have a possible motive. Now we just need to track him down” Tanner stated. 

“Already got him. We got a tip that the vehicle was spotted early this morning headed towards the outskirts of the city, and was last scene at an abandoned warehouse off the highway. We’ve got a team headed over there now” the detective said. 

“I want to be there. I need to be there” Lucas looked at the detective and Ryan. 

“Chief, I don’t-“ Ryan started. 

“Please tanner, that’s my girlfriend and baby out there. I need to be there” he didn’t beg and he didn’t ask, he more so told Ryan that he was going. His inner Chief was coming out. Running the situation. 

Tanner looked at the detective for approval. 

He sighed, “Okay he can be there, but he wears a vest the entire time. We don’t know what this situation could be like. It could turn bad at any moment.”

That thought made Lucas’ stomach churn. He didn’t know if he could do this. He didn’t know what he would do if this situation went bad. 

So as he sat in the detectives cruiser headed towards the scene he didn’t even realize he was praying, but he was. Ripley wasn’t really a religious person but he felt he needed to pray in this moment. Pray his family was safe, and pray that Vic would come home safe.

Those were his last thoughts as they pulled up to the warehouse not much later. Now he needed to be strong. For himself, for Vic and for the baby. 

————

Vic was starting to panic. 

She could hear commotion coming from outside but she didn’t know what that meant. Was it good , was it bad, was someone here to save her, was someone here to do worse? 

She really tried to stay calm. And she was doing really well for awhile. But then she started to lose track of time, her head was pounding worse than it was before and her body was starting to ache from everything she’d been through. She just wanted to be found. She wanted to go home. 

If she could just convince, whoever this was to let her go then maybe she had some hope. But she had to know who it was first, and why. Why her. Why her family. Why now. 

This wasn’t random. Whoever this was, was out for blood. She could feel it. But she just didn’t understand why. 

Until the door opened, and her abductor came in the room. Whoever it was looked frazzled, like they were shaken up. The person was frantically grabbing around the room for whatever supplies were lined around the room. They had a flashlight in their hand so they could see what they were doing. 

“Who are you?” Vic’s voice was groggy and dry, from not talking for so long. She sounded strangled. “What do you want with me?” 

The person stopped doing what they were doing. Before saying, “you know who I am, bitch. You took everything from me” the obviously male voice stated, rather angrily a that. 

Vic was even more confused now. “What? What doest that even mean? Who are you?” Vic demanded. This was crazy and this needed to end. Before she knew it an overhead light came on, illuminating the room. She had to squint her eyes before they adjusted to the light. The room was actually bigger than she thought. There were dusty boxes lining the wall on one side of the room, and a couple of crates on the other but other than that the room was empty. One window was boarded up on the wall so she couldn’t see outside. 

Instead she focused on the guy who took her. He was wearing blacks jeans and a dark hoodie and a face mask. So she couldn’t tell who he was. That frustrated her. 

“What do you mean I took everything from you? How do you know me?” She demanded again, this time with more intensity. She wanted this guy to know she wasn’t scared. He couldn’t intimidate her. 

He finally turned to face her. This time removing the mask that covered his face.

An audible gasp escaped her mouth. 

“Mike- Mike why are you doing this?” Vic asked, her voice trembling in the slightest. She was just shocked. I mean she was, but she wasn’t. She knew from what Ripley told her, that Mike wasn’t happy about being fired. But at the same time she didn’t think he’d ever do anything like this. Or that he’d be capable of something like this. This was crazy. 

“You took my life away. All I ever had was being a firefighter and you fucking took that away from me!” He yelled. 

Her heart began racing she didn’t know what he was planning to do but by the looks of it, whatever was happening now was not good. 

“Please Mike, I’ll do anything. I’ll help you in anyway i can, just don’t do this. Let me go. I won’t tell anyone about this.” She begged. 

“It’s too late for that, the cops have this place surrounded. So now, I’m going to do whatever it takes for them to give me what I want” he said, with a malicious tone. Vic didn’t know what that meant and she wasn’t sure she wanted to. 

Seconds later, Mike was spilling stuff all over the floor around her. Making sure it was spread around. Moments later she could smell what the liquid was. Gas. 

“Mike, please stop. This is crazy. I can help you, but I can’t help you if I’m dead. What happens next mike? You kill me and then what? The police will have you in seconds and then what happens? You go to prison for the rest of your life? Please Mike let me help you and we can avoid that” Vic was starting to really panic. This place would go up in seconds if Mike decides to light that. She has to get out of here. Shes been working on freeing her hands for hours and she was close but she didn’t think she was close enough to getting them out before Mike did something irrational. 

“It’s too late now, you can’t help me, the only way out now is if the police give me what I want” he said, before heading for the door with a lighter in his hands. 

“Mike stop, please stop!” Vic was sobbing. She didn’t want to die like this. She needed to get out of here and she didn’t have long to come up with a plan. She could see what she thought was a piece of metal poking out of one of the boxes so she tried to scoot her way over there without making too much noise. If mike suspected what she was doing she would for sure be as good as dead. When she finally scooted over she grabbed the jagged piece of metal and attempted the best she could without being able to see to saw at the rope. She felt the rope giving a little so she kept sawing at it. Except her hand slipped and she ended up dropping the piece of metal with no way to reach to get it. Shit. Shit. Crap. Shit. She knew it shouldn’t have been that easy. 

Now she needed a new plan. She looked around the room, trying to devise a new plan and also praying to god. Praying that she got out of this alive. 

————

Lucas was scared shitless. That was the best way to describe what he was feeling right now. And that was an understatement. They had pulled up outside the warehouse and everything became a blur. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t focus. He need Victoria to be okay. He needed their baby to be okay. But he didn’t know what was going to happen. 

As the Chief, he’s used to being at unpredictable scenes. He is also good at keeping himself calm, and making sensible decisions, to assure everyone gets out safely and to ensure that the scene is under control. Except now Lucas wasn’t the Chief, he was not calm and he was not thinking sensibly. 

The police had called in for back up. And a negotiator as well, because this was looking more and more like a hostage situation. They were able to confirm that Mike was inside and had Victoria with him. They didn’t want to spook him because they didn’t know what he was capable of. So they had to figure out a way to get inside or a way to get him out without setting him off. 

“Detective, we were able to get a blue print of the building. Looks like there’s an emergency exit around the back. If we can get him to come to the front we can get some of our guys in the back entrance to secure the hostage” another officer said to the detective as he laid the blueprint out on the hood of the squad in front of them. Lucas wanted to vomit when the officer referred to Vic as the hostage. 

“Thank you, officer. I want to see if we can get him to talk first, maybe we can get him out of there before we have to light things up. Nine times outta ten these guys are looking for a way out, they always want something, the trick is to figure out what it is” the detective stated, a little too cocky for Lucas’ liking. This wasn’t a game and that’s what he made it sound like. 

“Listen, this isn’t my scene to run, so I’m not gonna delegate. But I want Victoria out safely, i don’t care what he wants, I’ll give it to him” Lucas said like it was nothing. He just wanted Victoria, but he didn’t want this cop to just treat her like another victim. 

“Chief, I’m gonna do everything I can to get her out safely. You just gotta trust my process” the detective said making stern eye contact with Lucas. Daring him to make a comment. Lucas didn’t like this guys attitude, but he had to trust him.  
——  
Vic was struggling she wanted to get out of these damn ropes tied around her. She had a good plan going with using the metal from the box but then she dropped it. She fucking dropped it. On top of that she managed to dig the rope further into her skin which hurts even more. The fumes from the gas spilled on the floor were starting to get to her. She could only hope now that someone found her soon. She didn’t know how much more of this she could take. She threw her head back. Frustrated tears coming from her eyes. She just wanted to be found. 

“Lucas please find me” she frustratingly whispered, and pleaded at the same time.

Sighing, and closing her eyes, trying to think of better times.  
————  
Outside, the police saw movement in the front of the warehouse and they decided now was their opportunity. The negotiator began to talk to Mike, while they had his attention. 

“Mike, this is the police. We would like to talk to you. But I need you to come outside with your hands up. We just want to talk. It would be in your best interest to do this. Again, just come out slowly with your hands up.” The negotiator spoke calmly into the microphone. 

Minutes which felt like hours went by, before they saw the door to the front of the warehouse open. Out came Mike, but he had a shot gun in his hand and there was no sign of Vic. 

“Mike we need you to put the weapon down, please. We have this place surrounded, please drop the gun.” The negotiator spoke loud and clear. 

Mike was nervous. The police knew that and Ripley knew that. You could tell from his frantic movement. Obviously he’s never done this before, not that that excuses him. Ripley wanted to believe he wasn’t a bad guy, that he just got caught up in the wrong things. But if Vic and his baby didn’t make it out of this alive, so help him god, Mike would pay. Before Ripley could think about it more, Mike started yelling. 

“No! I’m not gonna do that because-.. because the second I put this gun down, you’ll have officers take me down. And you don’t want to do that by the way. I’m not going anywhere until I get what I want. I want this god damn city to give me back what I lost.” He yelled before reaching into his pocket for something before holding it up, “See this lighter right here , that entire warehouse is doused in gasoline, with precious Victoria inside. The second I sense this going wrong, that place is gonna get lit up” 

Bile. That was what Lucas was feeling in his throat right now when he heard Mike say that. “Fuck” Lucas mumbled. It was like someone was repeatedly punching him in the gut. Why did it have to be like this. 

“Get the fire department on stand by” the detective spoke quietly into his radio. Then the detective turned to Lucas. “Chief, hypothetically speaking, say he’s not bluffing. Say the warehouse is doused in gasoline. How much time would we have if...?” He didn’t finish the sentence, he didn’t need too. They all knew what was coming after the if. 

“It’ll go up in seconds. Uhm- Depending on the layout of the building. But unfortunately he’s a firefighter so he knows. That place will blow, if he lights it” Ripley spoke in a dead tone. Everything in him was just gone. The love of his life was inside that warehouse and she might not make it out alive. His whole world was in that warehouse. 

“We don’t have time to negotiate. We need to act now” the detective said to Ripley and the officers standing around him. 

There were snipers positioned on near by buildings, ready and waiting to take their shot. The detective got on his radio, “All units be advised, the second you get a clear shot. Take it.” He ordered into the mic. 

The negotiator spoke again, “Mike. We do not negotiate with terrorists. And that’s where this situation is escalating too. You’re putting multiple lives in danger, including law enforcement. So I will ask you one more time to put the gun down.” 

Mike stopped his frantic movement. And for a second looked like he considered putting the gun down, until he lifted the gun and aimed it at the police. “No!” He shouted. 

Seconds later multiple shots were fired. Ripley, the detective and other officers took cover behind the squad car until the shooting stopped. 

When they looked up, Mike was laying on the ground bleeding. Multiple officers approached him, kicking the gun away. An officer gave the all clear sign. Mike was dead. Ripley’s heart was pounding as the SWAT team entered the warehouse. 

It felt like hours had passed, when it was only minutes before he saw officers come back out of the building, with Victoria in tow. She was alive. She was walking. He couldn’t stop the sobs from coming out of his body as he ran towards her. 

“Victoria!” He shouted. And she stopped and scanned the sea of police officers for him before she found him. She ran towards him and fell into his arms. This time they both were sobbing. 

“I thought you were dead. God i thought you were dead. I was so worried.” He said as he held her tighter than he ever has. 

“I’m here, I’m here. I’m alive. Lucas I was so scared. So scared I’d never see you again.” She cried into his neck. 

“Shh, baby I’m here. I’ve got you and everything’s okay. I swear I’ll never let anything happen to you again” he promised. 

They stood their holding each other for a long time, not saying anything. Just holding onto one another for dear life. Before a medic came over and cleared her throat. 

“Sorry chief, i need to check over Ms. Hughes for injuries.” She told them. 

Vic started to say she was fine but Ripley cut in. “No you need to get checked, I’ll come with you” 

He held her close as they walked over to the ambulance. They sat Vic on the edge of the ambulance as they started checking her vitals and dressing her rope burns on her wrists. Ripley sat next to her rubbing his hand in circles over her back. Suddenly she laid her hand across her still flat belly. She forgot about the baby. Lucas didn’t know. 

“Lucas..” she started, but he noticed she had placed her hand over her stomach. So he surprised her himself. 

He leaned over and placed a kiss on her temple before bending down slightly to look into her eyes, “We’re having a baby?” He said with tears in his eyes. 

She dropped her jaw in surprise. “You opened the gift??” 

He nodded and then reached over and placed his hand on top of her hand. 

“We’re having a baby” she smiled back at him. “A little baby Chief” looking down at their hands.

The medic spoke, “your vitals look good, however I do want to send you to the hospital just to get checked out further to make sure whatever he drugged you with is out of your system, and for them to check on the baby considering the stress you were under” 

Vic sighed. She really didn’t want to go to the hospital. She just wanted Lucas to take her home. She’d been through hell and back. But she knew Lucas would want her to get checked out. And she wanted to make sure the baby was okay. 

“Okay” she nodded her head, squeezing Lucas hand a little tighter. She hated being the victim. Usually the roles are reversed and she’s helping the victim. 

“I’ll be right here the entire time” Lucas promised. As they got into the ambulance, she laid down on the gurney. She looked up at the ceiling, thanking whoever was up there that answered her prayers. She was safe. Lucas was safe. They were together again. She thanked god for answering her prayers. She was so scared she’d never get to experience her future with him. 

Lucas sensed her shift in mood. “You okay?” He asked gently. Leaning down to place a kiss on her forehead. 

“I will be. We will be” placing a hand on her belly. “Thanks to you, Lucas. You found us” she said with tears in her eyes. 

“I will always keep you safe Victoria. You and little baby chief. Forever” he said, with so much emotion it made her cry more. 

“I love you so much Lucas. I was so scared I’d never get to say that again” she told him, her hands finding his, squeezing them.

“I love you Victoria. More than you will ever know.” He leaned down and placed a kiss on her lips softly. They arrived at the hospital and got Vic into a room. After getting the all clear from the doctors and a confirmation that the baby was doing great, they were holding each other in the hospital bed, waiting for her discharge papers. 

For now, Vic and the baby were safe. He knew the upcoming weeks would be hard for them, but he was confident that they would be okay. Vic was strong, together they would get through this. He made a silent vow to always protect his family for the rest of his life. They were his lifeline.  
No matter what difficulty they faced, they would get through it together. 

And that is all that mattered.


End file.
